(USA TODAY) -- Sarah Palin is defending John McCain after the senator was censured by the Republican Party back home in Arizona.

In a post on her Facebook page,
McCain's 2008 running mate says she believes in loyalty and wonders why
the Arizona GOP would reprimand "an American hero and friend" who
consistently fights "President Obama and Harry Reid's far left agenda."
A key passage in Palin's post:

So at this time, it's
perplexing to see Senator McCain's good efforts to uncover the Obama
agenda being ignored and perhaps even hindered now by those wanting to
censure the Arizona Senator. Despite our differences on some other
issues, there is no questioning Senator McCain's dedication to national
security in spite of the White House's agenda.

The Arizona GOP censured McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee,
over the weekend for what it contends is the senator's "disastrous and
harmful record." McCain told Politico that the rebuke "fires me up." Our colleagues at The Arizona Republic has more on the McCain censure.

As if to underscore her remarks -
and drive home the point that McCain is a former Vietnam-era POW and
American hero - she posted a photo of McCain from his days as a naval
aviator. Palin opened her post by noting she was writing on the
anniversary of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords that ended the war in
Vietnam.

It's not the first time Palin has come to McCain's defense. She
campaigned for him in 2010 when the senator faced a primary challenge
from the right.